John Singer Sargent
Boats, Venice
Dated: 1903

From Christies

 . . . The present work is dominated by three main aspects. The first is a line down the center of the work, defined chiefly by the prow of the near boat and its reflection. The other two consist of mirror-image diagonals that intersect at this vertical center line; at the bottom of the work the anchor line meets the seam between two of the hull's boards; at the top a boat's boom on the right cuts a diagonal into another boom, wrapped in a sail, at upper left. The careful composition belies the effortless look of this work, a stunning example of Sargent's bravura work in watercolor.

. . . This work will be included in the forthcoming John Singer Sargent catalogue raisonné by Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray, in collaboration with Warren Adelson and Elizabeth Oustinoff. 

(Christies) 

Notes: 

Exhibitions 

Boston, Massachusetts, Museum of Fine Arts, 1987. 

New York, Adelson Galleries, Inc., Sargent Abroad: An Exhibition, November 7-December 13, 1997. 

Sale

Sold at Christies, New York, Dec 04, 2003; Lot 38, Sale # 1309; $164,300.00 U.S. dollars

Sourse: Natasha Wallace Contributor: igrkio